And They Run
by Stumper
Summary: Set after the events of Terminus, Rick and his group find a whole new road of terror to run down when they discover a new crew of monsters to face: A brood of characters known as TYRANT. A dictatorship led by an evil warlord known as Vagrant who wants everyone to bow before him. Can Rick and his crew escape another tragedy in the Walking Dead universe?
1. What Devil Do I See?

**A/N: Hello everybody. This is my first official Walking Dead fanfic but please, enjoy. I'm unleashing all my inner creativity into this one. I love the comics and show with all my heart so I hope everybody embraces my passion project with this. This fanfic will take place after the events at Terminus so imagine it as the starting point of a whole different "season" per say. Enjoy! **

The streets were damp and cold after a storm had just passed through. Rain washed away the blood on the paved roads, clearing the way for walkers to straddle down the empty horizon. The small town of Orchard looked fruitless on the outside but on the inside...we couldn't be so sure. The walkers were numerous in size but surely they couldn't be left standing around. A window suddenly shattered at the pharmacy just two blocks away. The walkers all turned towards the direction of the crippling glass and made a B-line for the noise. A couple of figures quickly ran past the undead while their backs were turned towards the shopping mart. The figures ran into the shop and kicked open the front doors. They made it. Pulling off their hoods, protecting themselves from the rain, they revealed themselves to be Daryl Dixon and Michonne.

"Grab a cart and fill it up. We need to get out of here as fast as possible." Said Daryl, biting into an apple he picked up from the fruit stand next to him. Michonne nodded and took out her katana. Outside the store, in the underbrush a block away eyeing the undead on a sniper, stood Carol.

"Make sure you got a steady hand on the trigger." Demanded Rick over her shoulder. Rick looks over at his group. Holding his daughter Judith is Tara. Standing guard is Sgt. Abraham and Rosita while Eugene sits in the getaway vehicle. Bob, Sasha, and Tyreese stand next to the opening in the underbrush, ready for their turn to run out towards the store.

"It's a good thing Glenn hit that window with that rock." Said Bob. Everyone looked over at Glenn and Maggie. They stood next to Father Gabriel, the latest edition to their group after the disaster known as Terminus, exchanging their vows. Rick walks over to the three.

"Now isn't the time to be doing this. This is a life and death situation!" Maggie looks over at Rick with sadness in her eyes.

"Walker coming straight at us." Whispered Carol. She relaxed her finger on the trigger. Rick turned around and saw the undead monster walking straight towards them.

"Don't fire! The shot will alert the whole herd." Rick remarked. Abraham takes out his gun as does Rosita. "What's wrong, leader? Afraid to show a little action?" Rebutted Abe.

Back in the store, Michonne and Daryl run up to the front door with a cart full of items. They look out the greased up window to make sure they're ready for a complete exit. Nope. Not safe yet. "Come on. Get us out of here."

"Should I make the shot or not?" Asked Carol.

"Give it to me." Said Tyreese, taking out his hammer. The walker bursts through the bushes and comes at the group. Rick slams his revolver against the top of the walkers head, crushing its skull. An explosion is then heard.

"What the hell was that?" Asked Sasha. Rick put his finger up to his lips. The explosion got louder. Suddenly, an old school bus rolled through the town and rolled over the walkers. From its windows, the driver dropped grenades. The grenades exploded, killing walkers and creating potholes in it's way. The bus came to a halt suddenly. Off the bus came six thugs, all clad in riot gear.

"What the hell?" Said Abraham.

The final one off the bus was clad in spiked armor, riot gear, a trench coat, and a gas mask. He carried an Uzi and a shotgun. "Search the town." Said this apparent leader.

"Yes, Vagrant." Said his followers. The team broke up and quickly scattered through out the town. Carol aimed her sniper at the man named Vagrant.

"No." Said Rick. "We need to get out of here." Rick looked up at the bus one final time. Across the bus was spray painted one word: TYRANT.

"But what about Daryl and Michonne?" Asked Tara.

Rick looked over at the shopping mart. A thug had entered the shopping center. Rick rubbed his bearded face and turned back towards the group.

"Everybody in the truck..."

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Bow or Die

The inside of the shopping mart was cold as hell. The thug took off his helmet and wiped the rain from his forehead. He peered through his glossy goggles and took out a revolver. Making chirping noises with his tongue, he mocked Daryl and Michonne without even knowing they were still inside the store.

"Come out come out wherever you are." The thug walked over and eyed a piece of eaten apple on the checkout stand. He picked it up and smelled it. Throwing it to the side, he aimed the gun towards the fruit stand.

"I know you're in here. Now come on out." Michonne came out from behind the booze shelf with both her hands up. The thug started to chuckle.

"Well, well. What do we have here? A beautiful Amazon gem. It's my lucky day." Michonne kept her hands raised high. The thug steadily walked over to her with his gun pointed at her navel. "No need to be scared baby. I won't hurt you. Vagrant on the other hand...he might bite."

"So do I." Said Daryl. The thug turned to the let just in time to see Daryl shoot a bolt right into his neck. He dropped his gun and fell backwards onto a cash register. The register fell to the ground, making a loud crash.

"We need to get out of here." Yelled Michonne as she made her way to the door.

"You don't need to tell me twice." Said Daryl. The two ran out the front door only to be swarmed by the remaining members of TYRANT. "Shit!" Yelled Daryl as they looked around at their impending doom. Vagrant walked over to the two who had just slaughtered his helper and looked over them.

"Who are you?" Asked Daryl. Vagrant only cocked his head to the left. He turned over to Michonne and touched the side of her face. Michonne tried to fight back but the thugs aimed their weapons at her.

"Feisty one now, are we?" Asked Vagrant. He took the crossbow from Daryl's hands. "I want you two to bow before me."

"Why?" Asked Daryl.

"Bow. Or die."

Michonne looked over at Daryl. Daryl only shook his head slightly. "Screw you, yah rejected plumber."

Vagrant laughed and turned towards his men. "Erase them from existence." The thugs shook their heads and lined up. Daryl and Michonne had no way out of this one. In a blink of an eye, Rick came speeding through the underbrush in the getaway truck. The truck drove over to the men about to shoot his two friends and he ran over two of them. Back in the bushes, Carol fired off a sniper round and took out a third thug with a headshot. Rick got out of the truck and took out of his gun.

"Daryl! Michonne! In the truck, now!" Rick looked over at Vagrant who was about to pull out his Uzi but Rick shot a slug into the mans chest. Vagrant went down as Rick hurried back into the drivers seat. The truck drove off as the remainder of TYRANT ran over to their leader.

Rick looked into the rearview mirror. "Is everyone okay?" Michonne and Daryl nodded. "Good. We're packing up and getting the hell out of here." As the truck drove out, Vagrant sat up and opened up his trench coat to reveal a bulletproof vest. He pulled the slug out and threw it into the air behind his shoulder.

"Are you okay, Vagrant?" Asked one of his henchmen. Vagrant looked over at the thug and sighed.

"Find those people and eradicate them." Vagrant got up to his feet and walked over to the bus. "We're going to paint the bus in their blood!"

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Lance Stevenson

_Three Weeks Later..._

Lance Stevenson wasn't the nicest person before the apocalypse came around. Known as "The Animal" by his friends because of his beastly nature, he had gone to jail three times before the incident erupted. The first time was for a drunken bar fight. The second time was when he came home and tried to interfere with his step father beating his innocent mother. The third time? He killed his step father. Luckily the night he was shoved into his jail cell, the apocalypse had started. Lance had previously been a biker so he had a mean look to him: Greased up beard, leather vest, motorcycle which would make Daryl dream over. The works. Plus he would sleep with a lot of women. Every finger on his hand represented a woman he slept with. That's why he has ten. But alas...that was before the incident.

Lance walked into the bar with his trusty Beretta drawn. In his pocket was a switchblade and two extra clips just for safe keepings. There on the bar was some extra beer just waiting for him. Lance smiled a wide jagged grin and marched proudly over to the bottle. His boots clinked along the wooden floorboards. He grabbed the dusty bottle with his mitt sized hands and brought the jug up to his lips. A hand then came up from underneath the bar, causing Lance to drop the bottle.

"Shit! Hold it right there you pile of-" From underneath the bar came a young woman who appeared to be in her twenties. "-you pile of beauty." Snarked Lance. The girl put her hands on the bar.

"I'm sorry. Can you pleased help me? I need to get out of this place."

"What's wrong baby cakes? Sick of being around grandpa's special sauce?" Lance blew a kiss in the girls direction. "What's your name?"

"Yolanda." Said the girl.

"Yolanda? Well ain't that pretty. No need to be afraid any more, Yolanda. I'm here. Now why not pass me that bottle of Vodka right behind you there?"

She does. Lance gulps the bottle down like a man who hasn't had a drop of water in months. Yolanda looks at the grizzled biker and wished she could have found a different survivor. "Can we please go? I don't want to be here any longer."

"Why not? I'm sure you got everything you need right here. Booze, a shitter. Probably food. Right?" Lance sat back on his bar stool and gazed at the girl in the eye. "I'm here, doll. Don't worry about all those mean, mean baddies out there. Lance is here to protect yah."

"But why do we have to stay here?" Cried Yolanda.

"Hey now. No need to get all tear eye, Miss Bluster. We'll leave soon. Now just answer me one quick question. You see that cash register right there?" Yolanda nodded. "Is there still cash in that machine?" Yolanda just stood there shell shocked by the question.

"You want money?" Asked the former bartender.

"I never said that. I'm just interested in knowing."

"But that's what you're hinting at." Said Yolanda. Yolanda started to secretly reach for the club underneath the bar.

"All I want to know is if there's any money in that there cash register. Now I know that seems like an odd question but we're living in an odd world right now. And I swear if you try to do anything brash right now, I'll snap your neck." Yolanda drops the bat, making a large clang. Lance twists his beard around in his fingers as he starts to laugh to himself.

"I'm sorry about this. I really am." Lance grabs Yolanda and throws her across the bar. As the girl screams, Lance yells at her to shut her trap. He press his boot across her throat and aims his Beretta at her. "I tried to be nice. Now this is what you get." Lance does the evil deed and walks over to the cash register. He breaks it open only to find a couple of twenties. "Dammit! This'll have to do." Lance takes the money and puts it in his pocket. He grabs a bottle of Jack and walks out of the bar. A few walkers see him but are to slow to catch up to the biker as he mounts his Harley. He rides off down the road when out of nowhere, he see's a truck in the need up ahead on the road. There's a large group of people checking the motor. Lance slows his bike down.

"You all in need of some service?" Asked Lance.

"Praise be to the Lord. Another survivor." Said the preacher. The leader of the group got out of the vehicle. He walked over to Lance.

"Lance Stevenson, at your service." Said the murderous biker exchanging handshakes with the cop.

"Rick Grimes."

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
